Bret

AM - 5 miles on the trail with Finn - recovery effort - very slow and felt weaker than I should.  Overall not a very good run today.   The maintenance work on the trail had the grass mowed short on the north end with a nice path.  

AM - speed intervals - 15 min warm up; 6 x 1 min at 6:45 pace and 1 min rest; then 6 x 30 seconds at 5:45 pace with a 1 min rest; 15 min cool down.   Did this in the neighborhood on a hilly route - which really was not condusive to hitting the paces - uphills were slow and downhills too fast and the effort was therefore not consistent.  Really a tough run for me today - I had been messing with a lectin-free diet to support my wife who is doing it. but it really limits the intake of what are normal sources of carbohydrates for me - and as a result I felt like the tinman needing some oil and without any stamina.   I think I will need to modify it so that I can continue to train.  

AM - planned easy recovery effort run - which for the first mile or so was the case, but a hilly route and perhaps a failure to rachet-down my effort resulted in me running a bit harder than I should have in the second half.  Nevertheless I felt much better than yesterday.   Perhaps its my age, but I cannot remember having my running be so impacted by my nutritional intake as it has been in the last few years.  I feel like when I was younger, I could power through a run regardless of how well or how poorly I ate.  

AM -  ran too fast for my fitness with Greg on the Greenway for 10 miles - in the latter half of the run I developed the same lateral lean to the right side at my trunk.   Asked Greg if I looked like I was leaning, and he confirmed it and said "dude, you gotta fix that!"   I have subsequently read about this phenomenon which sometimes comes out in ultrarunners in the latter part of their events.   The cause can be attributed to a weakness or fatigue on one side of the body - which makes sense, since I had the strain on the gluteus medius.    On this run, per usual on runs with Greg, we were running at a much faster pace than I normally run, and likewise this was a longer run than normal too - and due to the humid and rainy conditions, my HR was in the 160's - so this was more like a race effort.   So, I will try to run slower on my longer runs, and do some strengthen exercises for the left hip muscles.  

AM - very easy recovery 3.25 miles with Finn before church.  

AM - did a workout today on the treadmill, but started with a short warm-up outside with Finn for about a mile to give him some exercise.   It appeared that we may get some rain and I did not want to drive down to the HS to for flatter terrain only to be rained on.   So, using the Garmin Coach for treadmill, after the outdoor warm up I did 15 mins easy, then 3 x 5 mins at 6:41 pace with a 3 min rest, then 6 x 30 seconds with a 1 min rest and then about 7 mins (of the prescribed 15 min) cool down.   I felt a little less fatigued today - and the 3 intervals seemed hard, but not impossible hard, though I really had to concentrate to work through them with my HR hitting 166 on the last one that was at 6:30 pace.   The watch seems to need more than 30 seconds to properly record the pace, because on the 6 x 30 second intervals, it only recorded paces of a bit over 7 mins and I was actually running them faster than 6:30 pace according to the treadmill display.  Left hip seemed a bit sore and fatigued in the cool down, so I finished earlier than prescribed.  Overall, a decent effort. 

AM - 5 miles easy with Finn.  A little perplexed about feeling fatigue in my legs on a daily basis.  I know I did a workout yesterday, and so it is to be expected, but even with a few easy days, I seem to have this constant weakness or fatigue factor that I need to address. 

AM - 5.25 miles easy with Finn from Dan's house and up to the horsefarm trail roads.  Legs, and particularly the quads had deep tissue fatigue that seemed to actually get worse as the run progressed.   I was thinking the achiness and fatigue in the legs may have been due to inadequate nutrition (carbs specifically) but now I think perhaps I need to adjust the training - to some shorter easier efforts and gradually build more aerobic volume.

AM - 3 miles very easy and early as I had to be in the office before 8 today.   Legs were so achy and fatigued yesterday and really for several days, I decided to just run at a recovery effort pace/HR for at least a couple of days.

AM - 4.75 miles with Finn just as a rain storm was ending.   Intentionally slow and easy start - tried my best to keep the HR well below moderate effort, but the route I chose had several hills that simply did not allow for it.   Ended up still running a light to moderate pace for the remainder of the run - legs feeling improved from two days ago.  

AM - long run of 13.1 miles with Finn at the Forsyth Greenway - mostly at the correct long run HR effort.   Got a little more comfortable and faster than needed as the run progressed.   Much better this week compared to last week when I went too hard with Greg and it was much warmer and very humid.  Bit more soreness in the quads post run than usual but generally pleased with the run today.  

AM - 4.75 miles with Finn before church - not as sore or fatigued as I had expected to be.

AM - 5 miles with Finn this morning in the neighborhood.  Much slower and sore in the upper legs today - as I would expecting yesterday. 

AM - 7 miles on the treadmill as it was drizzly and foggy out this morning and I did not feel like getting wet and having to wash the dog.   Consistent effort on the treadmill at keeping my HR exactly where I wanted it for the entire run - without the issues of hills and terrain.  That's certainly one training tool benefit of that machine.  

AM - 4 miles this morning with Finn in the neighborhood.   Hip flexors were very achy and sore perhaps from running on the treadmill yesterday.  Originally planned to run much further, but scaled back particularly after the first mile or so which was not smooth at all.   Oddly then at about 3 miles maybe my muscles warmed up, and I ran much faster and with less discomfort.   I may need to just make daily decisions on how far and what type of intensity I will run based on how I feel that day versus planning anything in advance.  

AM - 5.25 miles with Finn on the Milton trail and the horse farm roads.  Lots of barnyard animals out today as well as a wild turkey that had Finn's interest.  Hip flexors very tight and somewhat tweaked on the left.  So frustrating but I will deal with it.  

AM -  2 miles with Riley in Boston around Jamaica Plain Pond - which is a nice park right down the street from her place.   I am having problems with the left hip flexor and think I need to give it some rest.  

AM - 5k with Riley, her husband Sam and her old roomate, Puneet along the shoreline in Boston on a cloudy cool blustery morning.   Puneet is new to running and this was her first 5k - so we ran along with her in support.   The event was for the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) organization and she is the VP of the local bar association's subcommittee for AAPI.   The event was low key and traveled along a promonade along the water and around the JFK museum library and back.  She did so well - with only a couple of walking breaks. We all had brunch afterwards at Tata Bakery - with Tracy as well.   The left hip was particularly wonky and painful at the start, but smoothed a bit during the run.  

AM - 3 miles around Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY from our hotel around the corner from Delaney's place.   She was working a wedding until the wee hours of the morning and so we stayed in a hotel instead of at her place.   Left hip probably more problematic today than yesterday - need to think about resting it more.

AM - a little over a mile in Brooklyn and then 5k on the Peloton in the hotel fitness room.   Going to try this out for a few days or a week or so - just do a mile running to keep the streak going and do cross training to maintain fitness.  

AM - just one mile again this morning before heading to the airport.  I think the idea was good yesterday, but we ended up walking quite a bit around NYC yesterday and so, the injury did not get too much rest.   Had limited time this morning before our flight so I did not get any time to do a ride on the Peloton or anything else.  

AM - 1 mile on the trail and roads and then the equivalent of 4 miles of pool running.

AM - 1 mile on the road/and trail and then the equivalent of 4 miles of running - aqua jogging for about 35-36 mins.   

AM - 2 miles of running on the trail and then 4 miles of aqua jogging in the pool.

PM - 5 miles of Alter G treadmill running at a local PT office.   Really got lucky finding this place - small quiet and 15 mins from my house.  Cheap - and I can use it M-F during normal business hours as long as no one else is using it. 

AM - 5 miles completely on the roads with Finn on a cloudy humid morning - feels as though it will be gloomy and rainy today.  A bit surprised with the run because in the first few hundred meters I was discouraged by the left hip issue, but the further I ran, the less it was painful and problematic.  A dull discomfort was there throughout the run but at a pain level of 1-2, it seemed tolerable enough.   

AM - 2 miles on the trail with Finn and then 2000 meters of indoor rowing before church.  I am catching a cold, I think.

PM - pool running - was in the water for 48 mins or so - I think that's probably equivalent to 5 miles or so.    I definitely am catching a cold.  Pool running is a bit of a learning experience for me.   I have done it before with injuries.  I do not particularly like it - and never really know if my technique is correct.   They say your HR will be 5-10 beats per minute slower than for regular land running.   So for me - the HR effort is equivalent to an easy long run.   Tough to record on Apple Watch or Garvin  - I just use the treadmill / indoor running option, but it thinks I am running at 16-17 min pace per mile when it records the distance.   I think a have inflammation in my hip bursa - which may have strained the left hip flexor or it may be tendonitis.   I may alternate between pool running and the Alter G. - and still run at least one mile per day for the next several days or weeks until things settle down. 

AM - very sick with a fever and there were heavy thunderstorms early - but I got out for a mile which was very depressing- felt terrible and the left hip was quite tender and painful.  

AM - 1 mile on the trail in the vibram shoes with Finn.  I actually think the shoes helped keep me from overstriding and as a result less aggravation of the hip flexor injury.   I think today I am going to end my run streak at 1550 days.   I run for enjoyment, but over the last year or so, with multiple injuries that I have run through, and this one beginning the pattern again, plus having a cold/fever - it is not enjoyable at all.  It is frustrating and depressing.   So I will shift to walking Finn for a bit everyday, and cross train in the pool and until the pain goes away I will try to keep myself from running.  I have had this hip flexor injury multiple times over the years going all the way back to high school.  The only thing that effectively resolves it, is time away from running which hopefully will be the case this time as well.   

AM - zero running miles.   Walked Finn for 1.5 miles on the trail and then did 45 mins of pool running which I am equating to 5 miles of running.   

AM - 1.25 mile walk with Finn on the trail and then 1 hour of pool running for the eqivalent of a little less than 7 miles of land running.  

I had read a bit about using proper technique - which I thought I had done in the past when I have used pool running during periods of injury - but I revisited it them, and though I tried some adjustments, I was not getting my heartrate up high enough to seem like I was having the same cardio effect as land running.   About halfway through today, I suddenly got dialed-in on the right technique, almost by accident - as the music from the Black Crowes was thumping and I matched my cadence to the beats per minute I was hearing -  and magically it actually felt in my mind as if I was running repeat quarters on the track at Dunedin High School with Rob Murphy and Doug Covert - nearly weightless as I probably was 40 some years ago and just flowing with my HR locked into what it feels like running on land.  

If I can run with that technique in the pool for the next several days or weeks, I am confident that I will easily maintain my fitness during this period of injury.  

AM - 1.25 miles walking with Finn on the trail and then 47 mins of pool running.   Legs were a bit tired today even without the pounding of running.